Squirrel-dioms #10

“Kill two squirrels with one stone.”

You might be feeling slightly traumatized after reading this phrase. Breathe. Everything’s okay. No one is killing any squirrels. However, at one point in history squirrels weren’t so safe. They were actually hunted for their luxurious fur. During this time, royalty all wanted to wear the finest squirrel garments. Those who couldn’t afford squirrel wore the knock off alternative – cat, which was much less desirable. The primary method for hunting was to throw a stone at the squirrel with such precision that it hit a pressure point on its neck. This ensured that death was quick, painless, and the fur wouldn’t be harmed. It is suspected that the clever squirrel was responsible for creating a stone shortage, which made hunting very difficult. This phrase was born from this time, coined by a skilled hunter who became very adept at maximizing the effectiveness of his “ammo”. Thankfully our amazing squirrel is no longer the main subject of the current saying and this probably happened for obvious reasons – because no one wants to think about killing squirrels. Oops, sorry for saying it again. Breathe. All squirrels are alright.